Rotary regenerative heat exchange apparatus comprises essentially a rotor post supporting sector shaped baskets that extend radially outward therefrom and contain a mass of heat absorbent material. The rotor post and the sectorial baskets are rotated whereby they may be alternately exposed to hot and cold fluids in order that heat absorbed from the hot fluid may be transferred to the cold fluid flowing therethrough.
The rotor is surrounded by a housing formed with end plates at spaced ends that contain openings to simultaneously direct a heating fluid and a fluid to be heated through the heat absorbent material of the rotor.
Inasmuch as the hot and cold fluids flowing through the rotor are maintained at various levels of pressure, either above or below that of the surrounding atmosphere, there is a strong tendency toward leakage between fluids in the high and low pressure zones and the surrounding atmosphere.
To guard against excess leakage of fluid, extensive measures must accordingly be taken to provide sealing arrangements that effectively isolate the several fluids from one another and from the atmosphere.